It may not feel like it, but the Colorado Buffaloes just benefitted from new head coach Karl Dorrell’s expansive coaching tree for the first time.

Taylor Embree will be Colorado’s next tight ends coach, DNVR’s Ryan Koenigsberg reported Saturday morning. Taylor is the son of Jon Embree, who played for the Buffs in the ’80s and was the head coach of the Buffs from 2011-12.

The younger Embree is largely unknown. He was a good receiver at UCLA, where he ranked top-three on the team in receptions in three-straight seasons, but he wasn’t good enough to stick in the NFL past his first training camp. At just 31 years old, the highest title Embree has held is offensive quality control coach.

But if Karl Dorrell decided that Embree deserves a spot on his Power 5 staff then there’s a decent chance he’s a star in the making.

Here’s why:

Embree comes to Boulder from San Francisco, where he was a quality control coach for the 49ers. His father is the assistant head coach of the 49ers. His father was also Dorrell’s assistant head coach for three years at UCLA. That means Jon Embree likely helped make the connection between his son and his former coach.

Should Colorado trust a father’s recommendation of his son? Maybe not. He’s probably pulling harder for Taylor than he is for Dorrell or the Buffs.

But should a son trust his father’s recommendation when he says, “Go to Colorado because Karl will put you on the right path?” Yes.

This web of coaching ties that Dorrell has created will now work like matchmakers at this point in his career. Not only will Embree talk Dorrell up to his son, but Dorrell can also call up 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and ask for his opinion of Taylor. Since Dorrell gave Shanahan his first coaching job, Shanahan will likely give him the full inisde scoop.

And remember, Dorrell had just finished working three seasons under Kyle’s father Mike Shanahan when he got the head job at UCLA in 2003. One of Dorrell’s first moves was giving Kyle his first job, likely on Mike’s reccommendation.

That’s how these relationships work.

Does that mean that Taylor Embree is the next Kyle Shanahan? Of course not, but the numerous connections each serve as one more layer of vetting when Dorrell is making these decisions.

The older Embree and the younger Shanahan aren’t the only two connections between Taylor and Dorrell. The 49ers’ offensive line coach worked with Dorrell for two years in Miami. The 49ers’ running backs coach Bobby Turner coached the Broncos’ backs for 15 years and Dorrell was coaching the receivers for three of them.

That’s four connections between Dorrell and Taylor Embree, right now. If you look back over Embree’s first couple of years with the 49ers there are probably more. If you look back to his one year as an assistant with the Kansas City Chiefs, you’ll find even more than that. (Namely, offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, who was given his first job as a position coach by Dorrell.)

There are scores of coaches who Dorrell can call up to ask about any prospect he’s interested in. They’re likely pitching Dorrell’s Colorado program to young coaches because of Dorrell’s history of developing coaches.

Shanahan is an obvious example of Dorrell’s coaching tree, but don’t forget about Syracuse head coach Dino Babers who spent four years on Dorrell’s UCLA staff, Oakland Raiders offensive line coach Tom Cable who was Dorrell’s coordinator at UCLA, Nevada head coach Jay Norvell who was Dorrell’s offensive coordinator, 10th-year Seattle Seahwaks special teams coordinator Brian Schneider who was given his first Power 5 job by Dorrell, or many others.

In short, UCLA was a coaching farm when Dorrell was in charge. We didn’t know that in 2009, but there’s no denying it now. Over the last decade we’ve seen his staff grow into a surprisingly-deep coaching tree.

Dorrell is now a well-known developer of coaches, so there could be a flood of young talent coming to Boulder.

It’s already happening.

A 31-year-old coach is leaving the best home for coaches in the NFL with hands-on experience developing the best tight end alive. He’s choosing Boulder. It had to have taken a handful of mentors in his ear pushing him to make that happen.

Brady Russell owes Karl Dorrell big-time.

Even if Dorrell doesn’t bring in a big-name coach like Tom Cable, don’t call his staff a bust. His greatest strength is finding the coaches who are about to be big names.

If Dorrell can get his hands on another half-dozen Embree types in their early 30s, Colorado could become the next farm for coaches.